Tuesday, August 12, 2025
HomeUncategorizedDave Roberts' harsh postgame comments show Dodgers are driving him to the...

Dave Roberts’ harsh postgame comments show Dodgers are driving him to the brink


On Sunday, the Dodgers were just five outs away from claiming a narrow victory over the Blue Jays to wrap up their first series sweep since they played the White Sox at the very beginning of July. It’d been an ugly game for a lot of reasons already, but if the Dodgers could walk away with the win, it would’ve been easier to forgive.

Then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered off of Blake Treinen to tie the game in the eighth, and then Addison Barger went back-to-back to put Toronto ahead. In the bottom of the frame, Freddie Freeman kept the Dodgers’ hopes alive when he drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk to force in a run and tie things again.

Dave Roberts pulled speedy but light-hitting outfielder Justin Dean and replaced him with Michael Conforto with the bases still loaded. It could’ve been the moment for Conforto to finally get on Dodgers fans’ good side to stop hating him … if he could just get a hit. He saw a 3-1 meatball from reliever Jeff Hoffman — who clearly did not have his stuff that evening — and made contact … only to pop it up to end the inning.

Ernie Clement hit what would become the game-winning homer for the Blue Jays in the top of the ninth, and then the Dodgers spoiled another bases-loaded situation with one out in the bottom of the inning.

The Dodgers have had their fair share of frustrations lately, especially as the Padres creep up on them in the NL West standings, but that game was definitively the hardest to watch this season.

Not even Roberts, who is typically unfailingly, frustratingly positive, could find a way to sugarcoat that loss. “This was frustrating,” he said. “I just felt there’s no way we should lose this game today.” He also didn’t hesitate to call out a few of his players directly in a completely uncharacteristic move.

Dave Roberts didn’t hold back criticism for his team after Dodgers failed to sweep Blue Jays in embarrassing loss

Of the Conforto at-bat, he said, “(On) 3-1, you get a pitch that — you couldn’t put it on a tee better.” Of Shohei Ohtani getting caught stealing third without the third base coach’s go-ahead to run in the bottom of the sixth, “That was his decision. Not a good baseball play.” Of Ohtani’s strikeout in the ninth with bases loaded, “We’ve got to come up with one right there. Chasing a ball down below is something that we can’t have happen.”

That’s about as angry or critical as Dodgers fans will ever see Roberts get.

All told, the Dodgers stranded an astounding 16 runners and endured key failures from two of their better arms in Treinen and Alex Vesia. LA’s lead in the division was whittled back down to two over the Padres, who they still have to face six times this season. It was an ugly afternoon — the ugliest of the year — and there’s little more to say other than that it just can’t happen again.





Source link

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

Recent Comments